Gabon vice-president and forests minister fired over hardwood scandal
President Ali Bongo axes officials after containers of illegally logged kevazingo wood went missing
Libreville — Gabon’s President Ali Bongo has fired his vice-president and his forests minister, his office said on Wednesday, after hundreds of containers of illegally logged kevazingo wood that had been seized went missing. The statement gave no reason for their removal, but said forests would be managed under the office of the prime minister for the time being. Bongo had promised to punish anyone implicated in the disappearance of a cache of 392 containers of the wood, which were seized at the port of Owendo in late February and early March. Two Chinese nationals are being held in relation to the case, and last week the head of customs, Dieudonne Lewamouo, was detained. Gabonese authorities said in April they had recovered 200 containers. Illegal logging is ravaging the forests of West and Equatorial Africa, most of it driven by Chinese demand, but rarely do governments take action against suspected culprits. Since taking over from his father in 2009 — continuing a family dynasty...
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